The Invention of the Helmet Cam - by Mark Schulze

Image by cleopatra69 via Flickr

I became intimate with the term "Necessity is the Mother of Invention" when I was producing a video called "The Great Mountain Biking Video" back in 1987.

Let me just step back a year or two and give you a little background. My wife and business partner, Patty Mooney, and I spent almost a year galavanting around the United States and Canada back in 1986. While hiking and exploring the Yukon, we discovered the sport of mountain biking when we happened to see a guy riding his mountain bike through a river. He was up to his knees in water. Patty and I looked at each other and asked, "What sort of a bicycle is THAT?"

We later found out at the Whitehorse sporting goods shop that it was a mountain bike, and people rode these two-wheeled wonders out there in the MOUNTAINS! "See that mountain out there?" the clerk said. "That's a six header." A "header" as we would soon find out ourselves, was when you fly over the handlebars while on a descent, if you are sitting too far forward on your saddle. As soon as we returned home to San Diego about nine months later, we bought our first mountain bikes as a Christmas present to each other.

We became so involved in the sport that a few things occurred. We started racing mountain bikes at local venues like Big Bear, Riverside, Lake Morena and Anza Borrego. We got married on our mountain bikes in the Cleveland National Forest in the summer of 1987. We spent our honeymoon racing mountain bikes in Big Bear, and then Mammoth Mountain. As a woman with virtually little competition, Patty did very well in her race class, bringing home a few first place trophies and lots of mountain-bike swag. I did well, too, usually placing in the top three in my class.

The next logical step was to incorporate our business - video production, with our passion - mountain biking, and voila, we produced the first-ever instructional mountain-bike videos. The first one was called "The Great Mountain Biking Video" and contains clips of local trails along with tips and techniques from the top pros of their time, Ned Overend, Martha Kennedy, John Tomac, Julia Ingersoll, Kevin Norton and Tinker Juarez. This video won accolades, honors and a lot of press, as it was "The complete guide to one of the world's most exciting and fastest growing sports." It's pretty interesting to realize that it's been nearly 25 years since we produced the video and it's now considered "archival," "historical," "nostalgic." That's life, right?

While in production with "The Great Mountain Biking Video," I realized that we needed some way to capture POV (Point-of-View) footage that showed the viewer what the rider was seeing and experiencing. As a bona-fide packrat, it so happened that I had an old motorcycle helmet to which I affixed a VHS camera. I had to balance the camera which was on the front, with a weight on the rear of the helmet. Thus, this helmet was so heavy that anyone who ever wore it on a mountain-bike ride or Trials jaunt of any length would invariably complain, "This thing's HEAVY!"

In order to operate the camera, we needed to pad a VCR in a backpack and attach this by cable to the camera. This helmet-rig contraption was a far cry from today's lipstick and button cams. We only WISHED we had technology like that at the time, but there is something to be said about being a pioneer and an inventor. Today's technological advancements are based on the trials and errors of people like me, a guy who simply wanted to share my love of riding through the beauty of nature, with interested viewers. (If you are reading this, Sony, I would accept your thanks with the latest and greatest HD lipstick cam, no problem!)

Patty has been digitizing some of our old VHS masters before they turn to dust, and she unearthed this historical helmet cam footage from the 1988 Mammoth Mountain Kamikaze Downhill. Our friend, a San Diego mountain biker named Jeff Detweiler, wore the rig down the entire run, which as anyone who has ever ridden it knows that a rider could easily break their neck WITHOUT wearing a motorcycle-helmet-cam. Kudos to Jeff. You'll see me popping in and out of Jeff's POV, and Patty even makes an abbreviated appearance at 3:40 as Jeff blazes down. This is unedited, real-time footage, so it's as though you are riding down the Kamikaze yourself, in 1988. And don't forget, mountain bikes were also primitive at the time, without the luxury of shocks. Enjoy!

Mammoth Mountain Kamikaze Downhill, 1988 from Patty Mooney on Vimeo.

Outdoor Video Production Can Be Tricky - by Mark Schulze

Over my nearly three decades as a video producer, Director of Photography and videographer, I have participated in both inside and outdoors shooting. The outdoor shoots can be a bit trickier because of several factors. Rather than working in a controlled indoor environment, when you are outside, the sun - your main source of lighting - will shift. The savvy camera operator needs to constantly be aware of where the sun is and how it is affecting your shot. You may have to white-balance the camera more than once, particularly if a series of clouds passes over the sun.

The above photo was taken at an Animal Planet shoot for their series "Baby Animals." We chose to set up under the shade of a tree with the morning sun at our backs. We sat our talent down in a spot that had consistent shade (not mottled). We used a reflector (a big round fabric disc that is shinier on one side than the other) to direct more lighting to her face. You want to avoid backlighting in which the subject is almost a silhouette and the background is blown out.

There is a fine tightrope you walk when you are working outdoors, not only when it comes to lighting but when it comes to sound. San Diego is notorious for its military bases and with military bases come big toys such as F-16s, helicopters and transport planes. These all crisscross the sky just when the talent has finally perfected their sound bite after the 20th take. You can check it out for yourself. Your location will be eerily quiet as you set up your camera, tripod and all the ancillary equipment. Just as you are pulling the trigger on your camera, you will be accosted by crows, and then the leaf-blowing gardener will get started fifty feet away.

Just joking. Not really.

If you really want to include outdoor shooting in your production, and you are a perfectionist like me, just budget a little more time than you think it will take to capture beautiful shots with clean audio.

Proud Finalist of "Most Admired CEO" Awards

I was honored to be a finalist in the San Diego Business Journal's Third Annual "Most Admired CEO Awards" competition. SDBJ held a well-attended gathering downtown at the San Diego Marriott Ballroom where we all had a chance to network with each other and enjoy "heavy hors doervres." I was in great company with other CEO's from around the region.

It's always a good thing when you receive recognition for your work. And my profession as a video producer and Director of Photography is a little bit different than your usual "nine to five." Each video production calls for a whole new venue and cast of characters. It's rewarding, but there's a lack of consistent social interaction, as you would find in most jobs. So shaking a few hands and networking with other CEO's was a lot of fun for me.


I even had a chance to say hello to San Diego's Mayor, Jerry Sanders.


Photographs by Brian Bostrum, Brian Bostrom Photography. Thanks Brian!